Imperial Armada

Imperial Armada was a subtheme of Pirates from 1996, which was partially re-released in 2001. It had the smallest number of sets in a Pirates theme, 3. The Armada replaced the Imperial Guards as main adversaries of the pirates.

The soldiers were modeled after Spanish conquistadors of the 16th and 17th century and were the first minifigures to feature morion helmets. The theme lasted one year.

The subtheme's minifigures were based on the Spanish conquistadors and the Spanish Navy of the 16th and 17th century. Their most recognizable feature was the conquistador helmets.

The Imperial Armada theme was phased out around 2001, and when Pirates tried to make a comeback in 2009, the Armada figures were replaced with red coated soldiers similar to the Imperial Guards, but without backpacks and had different printing.